References: The Spanish
References: The Spanish
The Portuguese explored the Atlantic coast of Africa seeking direct access to gold and slaves…
Additionally the Spanish justification for this massacre was there was a plot against the Spanish formulated by the Aztecs. Furthermore the Spanish are murderers and if they do not have any respect for the people of the Aztec empire they wouldn’t have any respect for Montezuma. Before his murder Cortes and his high-ranking officers had Montezuma arrested and placed under house arrest. What kind of so called friend will place their friend under house arrest. This shows that Cortes wanted to have supervision of…
When discussing the importance of Spanish alliances, it is important to discuss Matthew Restall’s interpretation of “the myth of the white conquistador”. A common myth in regards to the Spanish Conquest is that the Aztecs were conquered by a small group of white Spanish men. Within Restall’s book titled “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest”, he debunks the myth of the white conquistadors. Restall’s argues that “there is no doubt that the Spanish were consistently outnumbered by native enemies on the battlefield. But what has so often been ignored or forgotten is the fact that Spaniards tended also to be outnumbered by their own native allies. Furthermore, the invisible warriors of this myth took an additional form, that of the Africans, free and enslave, who accompanied Spanish…
One other belief was that Hernando Cortes was their god Quetzalcoatl and they did not want to incur the wrath of any god. So they welcomed him as a god and produced gifts to please him instead of treating him as a stranger and with suspicion.…
When Cortes heard of a vast and wealthy empire deep within the Mexican interior, the conquest of Mexico had already begun. The Aztec empire was what the ambitious Cortes had been looking for since his departure from Spain; he most certainly hoped that his wish to discover the empire would come true. The Aztecs, on the other hand, did not know Cortes. The empire was as it always had been; the Aztecs had no serious premonition of war. Cortes knew nothing of the size and power of the Aztec empire and if he did, his decision to bring only a few hundred men was certainly a gross misjudgment. The conquest of Mexico remains surprising for this reason: it seems puzzling that such a huge conflict could stem from two opposing forces, one of which was so terribly ill-prepared for war. As Inga Clendinnen states; "How was it that a motley bunch of Spanish adventurers, never numbering much more than four hundred or so, was able to defeat an Amerindian military power on its home ground in the space of two years?"…
For a quarter century, the conquistadores concentrated their energies on the major islands that Columbus had discovered. Rumors of fabulous wealth aroused the interest of many Spaniards including Cortes, a minor government functionary in Cuba. Like other members of his class he dreamed of glory, military adventure, and riches that would transfer him from court clerk into honored hidalgo. He believed that somewhere hidden there placed great cities of golden treasure. What he did not look forward to encountering were the native of the land, the Aztecs. Upon their first encounter a battle broke out that was initially won by the tribal natives but ended up introducing the Aztecs to the most devastating of…
_Myths of the Spanish Conquest_ is broken into seven chapters, each dedicated to a different myth or mis-conception regarding the Spanish conquest. In debunking these myths, Matthew Restall works with three themes regarding the conquest. First, that the European discovery of the Americas was one of the greatest events in human history. Second, that the conquest was the achievement of "a few great men," which he subsequently describes as "a handful of adventurers." These two themes lead to a third theme, or question. "If history's greatest event - the European discovery and conquest of the Americas - was achieved by a mere "handful of adventurers," how did they do it?"…
What started the Conquest of Mexico? It started when Hernan Cortes sailed to Cuba with sixteen fresh horses and several hundred men for invasion.…
The first phase of the Spanish invasion of Mexico took place in April 1519. In defiance of the Governor of Cuba and his expedition sponsor, Cortes took control over his forces and moved them inland. On the way, Cortes met resistance from other locals, who he eventually conquered and absolved into his army as allies. After reaching Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Capital, the Spaniards were initially greeted as foreign ambassadors. Other claims state that the Aztecs viewed Cortes as the god, Quetzalcoatl (Windschuttle, 50). The Spanish did not return the favor, eventually kidnapping Emperor Montezuma and, using him as a puppet, ran the country. The Governor…
“Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico,” by Camilla Townsend, hits the points of why the Native Americans were submissive to the Spaniards. The thesis, in short, says that the Native Americans were not exactly conquered by the conquistadors. Instead, they thought the Cortes was a god, Quetzalcoatl. This in no way indicates the development, or lack thereof, in the Aztec society. The Aztecs invited the conquistadors into their society as gods; they were not conquered, per say, because of the Spain being unbearable.…
The first factor for Cortez conquering the Aztecs was the weapons and horses. He sailed with 553 soldiers and 16 horses. With his 553 soldiers, they only had a total of 13 handguns and 32 crossbows. With facing an empire of 5 million, guns and horses had a major effect because the Aztecs didn’t have any firepower. Cortez’s second factor for conquering the Aztecs was siding with the Indians. Before fighting the Aztecs, Cortez encountered the Tlaxcalans, an Indian tribe. Cortez won the battle and the Indians decided to join his army against the Aztecs. Aztecs were prepared to attack first but, Cortez got information from the Indians. If it wasn’t for Cortez persuading the Indians to join his army against the Aztecs, the Aztecs could have attacked first and won the battle. If the Aztecs attacked first, some of Cortez army would of died and they would had only couple hundred of people left. The last factor for conquering the Aztecs was the belief that Cortez was a god. Cortez was aided by an Aztec legend named Quetzalcoatl. He instructed Indians in agriculture, metallurgy, and government. To the Aztec leader, Montezuma, Cortez could be the god because…
Some reasons Cortez wanted to conquer the Aztecs was because he was in a deep whole. He took names without Spain's approval & knew if he messed up, he would be in trouble.…
It was the duration of the stay of the Spaniards that ultimately caused the Aztec Empire to collapse when slaughter brought by disease and armed force made its way throughout the empire (49-50) The Spaniards used the intentional tactic of taking advantage of the beliefs of indigenous groups to gain their trust by pretending to be the gods they believed in. When they gained the trust of the people of the Aztec Empire, they used the tactic of armed force and unintentional tactic of disease to take their leader away and gain the trust of other indigenous groups as allies to weaken and collapse the entire empire. In this case the Spaniards were able to use every intentional and unintentional tactic to claim land in…
Vasquez sent men to get Cortes, Cortes sent men to battle, won against Panfilo de Narvaez (April 1520)…
First of all, the Spaniards inadvertently introduced a variety of new diseases previously unknown to the Aztecs. The Spaniards had already developed immunity to such diseases but unfortunately the Aztecs were an easy target. Smallpox took a huge toll on the Aztec population, it is estimated that within a few months it claimed more Aztec lives than the war itself. Bernardino de Sahagún, author of The Battle for Tenochtitlan wrote, “the disease brought great desolation; a great many died of it.”…